spooq wrote:

>  I would like to suggest the newbie learns VBA.

Perhaps, but IMHO after he learns programming. Otherwise VBA is a VBI. It is
certainly not a model for reliable programming style. It is only a small
bit removed from its origins in what may be the worst computer language
ever conceived.

>  The financial world 
>  lives and breathes Excel. VBA is by far the language most likely to be
>  of use to someone entering that world. It's pretty clear programming
>  is a tool for his/her use, rather than something that (s)he wants to
>  do for it's own sake. Having said that, Excel can be viewed as a type
>  of DSL in it's own right, so pushing the boundaries of what can be
>  done 'natively' is a great place to start.

OTOH, there are all sorts of interfaces to Excel objects, interfaces that
allow one to use more modern programming methods, and Ruby has one of
those. This adds to portability in a way that a complete absorption in VBA
would not -- for example one might create a generic solution to a financial
computation that interacts with, but is not dependent on, the Excel/VBA
interface. That solution could then be ported and used elsewhere. This
strategy would prolong the professional lifetime -- the viability -- of a
programmer who adopted this approach.

-- 
Paul Lutus
http://www.arachnoid.com